The newly created Ministry of Livestock Development is still in the news. This time, the news is not about it swelling up the cabinet and therefore increasing the cost of governance nor is it condemnation or commendation. It is that a body of trade and commerce believe that the government had left an aspect that should have been part of it. So, The Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the government did not do well enough by not including the fisheries and poultry subsectors in the ministry.
Gabriel Idahosa, president of LCCI said this at the chamber’s 2024 second-quarter press conference to address the state of the economy. So, what is the way out? Idahosa said the LCCI suggests that government should change “the name of the new ministry to the Federal Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development.” That, he said, would leave “the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to focus mainly on crop production.” The LCCI lauded the government’s initiative to create a livestock ministry; however, it noted that it is imperative to view it from the broader implications for the economy and the business community. Idahosa said a robust livestock and fisheries sector can boost the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP and help curb the record-high food inflation.
According to Idahosa, despite the efforts and the campaigns by government agencies that there would be massive food production this year, the performance in the first quarter this year was poor compared with the previous year. “The Q1 2024 GDP report showed that growth in agriculture, Nigeria’s largest single economic sector and employer, was very weak at 0.18 percent compared to 2.10 percent in the previous quarter.
“This reflects a marginal growth of 1.71 percent in crop production and contributed over 91percent of the total output in the sector. The livestock and fisheries sub-sectors recorded weak performance,” the chamber’s president said.
He, however, expressed confidence that there would a change with the creation of the new ministry. He said, “We expect to see some improvement in these sub-sectors with the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development by the Federal Government.” Growth in the poultry industry fell by 23.29 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 from a contraction of 30.57 percent in the same period of 2023, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Also, the NBS capital importation report revealed that the fisheries sub-sector of the agricultural sector did not receive any investment in Q1 2024. The state chamber therefore urged the federal government to involve all relevant stakeholders including farming communities, pastoralists, state governments, in formulating and implementing policies, and establishing clear communication channels to ensure transparency and foster trust among stakeholders.
“The chamber urges the federal government to encourage the transition from traditional nomadic grazing to modern ranching systems, which can increase productivity, reduce conflicts, and provide incentives for private sector investment in ranching infrastructure, including access to credit, technical assistance, and subsidies,” Idahosa stated.
